Anti-anthrax operation launched in Purwakarta
BOGOR (JP): With reports of anthrax infected cattle and ostriches in Purwakarta, West Java, transporting livestock has been banned on roads in and out of the area.
"The decision has been made to prevent the possibility of the contagious disease spreading," Dean of the veterinarian school of medicine at Bogor Agricultural Institute, Fachryan H. Pasaribu, said on Thursday.
He said a team of experts has detected the anthrax bacteria that has infected ostriches since Nov. 10 last year.
"We were the first to find out about it. We don't know why the case had only recently made the news and shocked the public," Pasaribu said, adding that so far no fatalities from the disease had been reported.
He also warned people who had eaten ostrich meat produced by PT Cisada Kema Sari in Ciparungsari, Campaka district, Purwakarta, to soon have a medical checkup.
"People must be certain that they are not infected by the contagious bacteria," Pasaribu said.
Many anthrax-infected ostriches have been stolen by local people. It is feared that there are infected people who are afraid to come forward as they are involved in cattle thievery.
"Anthrax is very dangerous to humans because it attacks the liver. So, whoever catches the disease must be treated soon," he said, adding that anthrax is carried by the Bacillus anthracis bacteria, the spores of which can survive for a maximum period of 100 years in the ground and can only be destroyed through incineration.
Pasaribu was accompanied by a team of contagious disease experts, namely I Wayan Teguh Wibawan, Hernomoadi Huminto, Bambang Pontjo Priosoeryanto and Wahyuni.
"We received an ostrich carcass on November 10 last year and through a thorough laboratory investigation we found it tested positive for anthrax bacteria," Wayan said.
The government has exterminated more than 3,000 ostriches in a bid to curb the spread of anthrax in Purwakarta.
Director general of animal husbandry Sofyan Sudrajat said on Monday the extermination of the birds was a prompt and effective move in combating the disease.
The disease was reported to have killed at least 300 birds at an ostrich farm belonging to PT Cisada Kema Sari last December.
"In Purwakarta more than 180,000 livestock are threatened by anthrax," Sofyan said. Other provinces liable to the disease include East Nusa Tenggara, Papua, Sumatra, Lampung, Sulawesi, Jambi and Central Java.
The government has vaccinated at least 50,000 livestock in Purwakarta, some 90 kilometers east of Jakarta, since the outbreak of the disease.
A Purwakarta resident reported suffered a bleeding ulcer, a symptom of anthrax, after eating ostrich meat. (21/edt)